President Donald Trump has cancelled flights for 1,660 refugees from Afghanistan who were previously cleared by the government to come to the U.S., according to Reuters.
The 1,660 Afghan refugees who have been taken off flights include family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, unaccompanied minors flying to the U.S. to reunite with family, and those who fought for the former U.S.-backed Afghan government.
Trump’s suspension of U.S. refugee programs and subsequent cancelling of flights is detailed in a report from Shawn VanDiver, the head of the #AfghanEvac, a coalition of U.S. veterans and advocacy groups, and an anonymous U.S. official.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team for comment via email outside of business hours. Newsweek also reached out to the U.S. Department of State for comment via a form on their website outside of working hours.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Why It Matters
Trump’s suspension of U.S. refugee programs is significant because he is following through with the immigration crackdowns he mentioned during his presidential campaign.
Further, by cancelling the flights of Afghan refugees, the president is mirroring actions from his first term, as he signed an executive order barring people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days in 2017.
What To Know
In the list of the president’s “first priorities” per the new White House website, Trump is “suspending refugee resettlement, after communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources.”
Reuters’ two sources said the Afghan refugees previously approved to resettle in the U.S. were being removed from flights they were scheduled to take from Kabul between now and April.
The decision not only affects the 1,660 pre-approved Afghan refugees, but others who were awaiting assignments for flights and had been approved for resettlement in the U.S.
VanDiver said that “Afghans and advocates are panicking” and that “we warned them [Trump transition team contacts] that this was going to happen, but they did it anyway. We hope they will reconsider.”
Speaking of the group of refugees, the Afghan advocate said: “We know this means that unaccompanied children, (Afghan) partner forces who trained, fought and died or were injured alongside our troops, and families of active-duty U.S. service members are going to be stuck.”
The group includes approximately 200 family members of Afghan-American active-duty U.S. service personnel born in the U.S. or of Afghans who came to the U.S. and joined the military, and 200 unaccompanied children of Afghan refugees or Afghan parents whose children were brought alone to the U.S.
One of the top themes of Trump’s presidential campaign was a crackdown on immigration, and he has followed through as he has suspended refugee programs after having been in office for one day.
The newly sworn-in president is set to sign 10 new executive orders aimed at tightening border security and decreasing illegal immigration. Some of the executive orders will suspend refugee resettlement for four months and eliminate the option for migrants to claim asylum by establishing a removal process without the possibility of asylum.
In former president Joe Biden‘s administration, approximately 200,000 Afghans were brought to the U.S. following the U.S. troops’ withdrawal from the capital.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Jason Kander, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, wrote: “Trump just signed an Executive Order suspending the entire U.S. refugee program. He has massively underestimated the popularity of that program, particularly with regard to refugees who fought for democracy while serving alongside Americans. #AfghanEvac.”
The House Foreign Affairs Committe Democrats wrote: “Republicans spent 4 years baselessly chastising Biden for ‘abandoning our Afghan Allies.’ But *this* is what abandonment looks like. Leaving vetted, verified Afghan Allies at the mercy of the Taliban is shameful.”
In a statement, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, an Afghan advocacy group, said: “The refugee program is not just a humanitarian lifeline through which the U.S. has shown global leadership. It represents the gold standard of legal immigration pathways in terms of security screening, community coordination, and mutual economic benefit.
“Refugees undergo rigorous vetting, including multiple background checks by national security agencies, before ever setting foot on American soil. Their integration is coordinated through close collaboration between federal agencies, local stakeholders, and nonprofit organizations, including many faith-based groups, positioning them to quickly become vital contributors to their new communities. The US Refugee Admissions Program was designed and ameliorated over four decades precisely to address the concerns used to suspend it today.”
She added: “This mission has never been about politics; it’s about people. For over 40 years, the refugee program has had bipartisan support in living up to our nation’s humanitarian values, reuniting families, and bolstering our economy within an orderly, efficient, and compassionate legal framework. We strongly urge the White House to reconsider this executive action.”
What Happens Next
It is not known at this time if the Trump administration will make any amendments to the suspension order for the refugee program, or if there will be further restrictions implemented.
